Jim Whittaker, the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest, died at his home in Port Townsend, Washington, on the night of April 7. He was 97.
Whittaker reached the top of the world on May 1, 1963, with Sherpa Nawang Gombu, a climb that made him one of the most recognizable American mountaineers of his era. He had been born on February 10, 1929, in Seattle.
That ascent came in brutal conditions. Whittaker and Gombu ran out of oxygen near the summit and kept going after their supplies froze, pushing on without water. The climb helped ignite broad American interest in mountaineering and brought him recognition from President John F. Kennedy.
He later became the first full-time employee of Recreational Equipment Inc., or REI, and later served as chief executive. Whittaker also co-founded Rainier Mountaineering Inc. with his twin brother, Lou Whittaker, building an Ashford-based guiding service that remains the largest agency leading climbers up Mount Rainier.
A family statement said he stayed closely connected to the climbing community through decades of leadership and service with The Mountaineers. In a 2013 interview, Whittaker said of the climb, “I think I will probably take it with me into my next life, if I have one,” and added, “You’re in nature, participating in God’s creation... it’s such a high, such a spiritual thing,”
Whittaker is survived by his wife, Dianne; his sons Bob Whittaker, Joss Whittaker and Leif Whittaker; his grandchildren Adam Whittaker, Tony Whittaker and Sarah Kanzler; and his great-granddaughter, Sophie Whittaker. He and his brother helped popularize mountaineering in the United States, and his name remains tied to the moment American climbing first reached the global summit.
